Last updated on March 6th, 2020 at 12:31 pm

Hopefully you’re here to get shredded, because this Kumail Nanjiani workout is no joke.

Nanjiani got absolutely shredded, and is breaking the internet with his new physique in some kind of Kim Kardashian-like fashion.

Kumail Nanjiani’s workout is one that falls under the category of “Holy crap this is intense, but if this made Kumail Nanjiani look arguably more muscular than Chris Hemsworth I’m all about it.”

If you don’t know what’s going on: Nanjiani is set to star as Kingo in Marvel’s Eternals with an incredible cast right there with him.

We’re talking Angelina Jolie, Richard Madden, Gemma Chan, Kit Harington, Salma Hayek, and more!

And Nanjiani posted a, what he calls “a thirsty shirtless” of himself to Instagram revealing his killer physique.

That’s the picture I used for our main workout routine image, so you’re not missing out on anything.

Kumail Nanjiani Stats:

Height: 5’9

Weight: (approximate) 175 lbs.

Age: 41 years old

Nanjiani’s height was actually listed anywhere from 5’8-5’9, but either way he falls into the category of what I’d call the shortest men we’ve seen at SHJ.

He’s right there with co-star Kit Harington!

The average height falls in the range of 6’1-6’3 with celebs like Chris Pratt, Chris Hemsworth, Chris Evans, Adam Driver, Stephen Amell, Clive Standen and so many more.

Guys around 5’10-6’0 are dudes like Brad Pitt, Matt Damon and Jason Statham, but the ACTUAL shorter range is filled with guys like Mark Wahlberg, Zac Efron, Kit Harington, Tom Holland and more.

Even taller than them are guys like The Mountain, Joe Manganiello, Ben Affleck, Jason Momoa, Ray Fisher, Winston Duke, Alexander Skarsgard and a few others.

But, don’t worry either way.

We write these routines to be utilized by any shape and size.

Take the SHJ Program Quiz!
Take The SHJ Program Quiz and find the perfect program for YOU.

Kumail Nanjiani Diet and Nutrition

Don’t worry guys, Kumail Nanjiani’s workout and diet plan might be super intense, but at least you already know you’ll have time to game!

Okay, no, but seriously, that’s important to me.

In order to get shredded for his role Nanjiani needed to go through two phases:

1. A Bulk to Tack on Muscle
2. A Cut to Get Shredded like a dang Greek God

We’ve seen me go through this same exact thing in two 3 month spurts while testing out the programs inside The Academy.

I didn’t break the internet quite like Nanjiani, but let’s face it: he’s much cooler than I am.

Speaking of how cool he is, he was even cool enough to share the details of his diet plan in an interview with Variety.  He says:

“I did a bulk so I basically ate a lot of protein, but also whatever I wanted. So I ate french fries, I ate ice cream for like four months. And now I’m cutting, so now I’m on the crazy diet. And so now it’s like no sugar,” Nanjiani said. “Listen, I love desserts. But I’d been eating whatever I wanted for four months, this actually doesn’t feel that hard. It feels like, ‘Oh, thank god.’ I was eating a meal right before going to bed. [My trainer] wanted me to eat a meal, a full meal, so at like 11, 11:30 p.m., I would eat a full meal and go to bed.”

“When I was a kid, I assumed at some point in my life I would be in perfect [shape], I would be the perfect male form, right? I just assumed it would happen. I would have crazy abs,” he said. “It just never happened, and I’m 41 now. I was like, ‘If it doesn’t happen this year, it’s just never going to happen.’ At the end of last year I was like, ‘Oh next year, I’m gonna be in the best shape of my life.’ It’s been really, really intense.”

And in his official Instagram post that shook the internet he writes a full list people he’s like to thank and shout-out that we’ll break down a bit more in his workout routine research, but for now I want to take a snippet about his diet and nutrition plan:

(And thank you for forcing me to do cheat meals David.) Matthews Street Catering for their delicious and healthy meals. And finally, the biggest thanks goes to @emilyvgordon for putting up with me complaining and talking about only working out and dieting for the last year.

David is his personal trainer, who with his team, helped Nanjiani transform (but we’ll get to that more in a bit).

Nanjiani also says:

I would not have been able to do this if I didn’t have a full year with the best trainers and nutritionists paid for by the biggest studio in the world. I’m glad I look like this, but I also understand why I never did before.

So for those of you who want to say something like “Well, yeah, he had unlimited money, resources, and trainers, etc. etc. etc.”; you’re right.  He does admit to that.  And he even says that he understands why he never did this in the past.

That being said: you can’t completely make that excuse when you have a resource like SHJ right here for you.  

I’ve literally researched over 250 celebrities and broke down their workouts and diets into a resource that let’s you plug and play all The Pillars of Success they utilize (whether they know it or not) inside our Academy.

I even wrote a book about it.

Okay, but shameless plugs really meant to say: don’t make excuses, don’t think it’s impossible, just know that this specific transformation you’re seeing isn’t exactly one that was built specifically around sustainability like we’ve seen other celebrities utilize and like we strive for within our programs.

Back in July Men’s Health shared this about Nanjiani’s nutrition:

His go-to cheat meal . . .

“Pakistani food is delicious, but it’s a lot of carbs: biryani, naan bread, tons of rice. Afterward, my wife and I will say, ‘Let’s take a quick nap.’We wake up five hours later.”

His current diet . . .

“Basically, it’s five days of low-carb, then over the weekend you eat as much as you want. But I’m trying to figure out the food thing right now because I wasn’t eating enough. I’m still kind of afraid of gaining the wrong kind of weight, because I’m very vain.”

And Muscle and Fitness tells us this (straight from his trainer, Roberts):

He followed a high-protein, moderate-fat diet, keeping his carbs low, 200 grams or less, during the week and then loading up on the weekends. “I’d make sure he had more carbs before we worked the muscles that needed the most growth,”

So, don’t get me wrong, we have seen a lot of celebs opt for specific restrictions. 

For example: Dwayne Johnson and Kevin Hart incorporate 80/20 dieting with big weekly cheat meals, Hugh Jackman, Benedict Cumberbatch, Tom Hopper, and Terry Crews utilize intermittent fasting(something I use daily as well), Mustafa Shakir and Madelaine Petsch are vegans, Brandon Routh and Frank Grillo opt for paleo, and tons of others utilize their own variations as well.

And, that’s just to name a few celebs from each, by the way.

You can check out our Nutrition Pillars for more information and articles on all of the above and more.

Curious where over a hundred celebs fall in their dietary choices ranging from High Protein and Keto to Vegetarian, Vegan and Intermittent Fasting? Want exclusive celeb meal plans? Check this out.

Take the SHJ Free Workout Placement Quiz
Take The Free Workout Placement Quiz and find the best free workout for you.

Kumail Nanjiani Workout Routine Research

Going through both a bulking and cutting phase Nanjiani had to quickly tack on mass and then while losing fat, maintain that mass.

With the help of his team he was able to come out looking like a chiseled sculpture. 

Before we get into any other outside resources I do want to go over the full Instagram post from Nanjiani and break it down a bit more.  Nanjiani’s post states:

I never thought I’d be one of those people who would post a thirsty shirtless, but I’ve worked way too hard for way too long so here we are. You either die a hero, or you live long enough to see yourself become the villain. I found out a year ago I was going to be in Marvel’s Eternals and decided I wanted to transform how I looked. I would not have been able to do this if I didn’t have a full year with the best trainers and nutritionists paid for by the biggest studio in the world.  I’m glad I look like this, but I also understand why I never did before. It would have been impossible without these resources and time. So big thanks to @grantrobertsfit who started working with me at the beginning of the year and made me understand true physical pain for months and months. Then, once we started shooting, a massive thanks to @davidhigginslondon and his team (@ellispartridge, @thebeardypt, @tomcheesemanfitness) for training me almost every day and making me strong, limber and injury free. I can almost touch my toes now. (And thank you for forcing me to do cheat meals David.) Matthews Street Catering for their delicious and healthy meals. And finally, the biggest thanks goes to @emilyvgordon for putting up with me complaining and talking about only working out and dieting for the last year. I promise I’ll be interesting again some day. #thirstyshirtless

So as you can see, Nanjiani had a full team behind him in multiple areas of his fitness.

I still prefer our team at SHJ, but I suppose they did a pretty good job…

Nanjiani’s trainers all have different backgrounds so that he had a coach focused on stretching and massage therapy for recover, weight training and strength focus, running and cardio focus, and another main coach to wrap it all up.

Luckily for us, though, we have some resources outside just looking at his coaches work and focus-areas.

In a 29 second TMZ video we can see Nanjiani in the gym doing some typical weight training with movements shown as:

• Incline Cable Chest Flyes
• Machine Pulldowns

We also have a handful of images of a session Nanjiani did with Men’s Health and the movements we find are:

• Bent Over Dumbbell Laterals
• Hex Bar Deadlifts
• Cable Crossover Lateral Raises

And then, in a post by his trainer we see him doing some cable chest flyes (this time not at an incline).

So we have a pretty good basis to go already.

His trainer also shares this in that post:

“He did it the way anyone can… hard work, dedication and a desire to learn.  Kumail walked into my gym in January of this year and 9 months later following optimum nutrition and training unveiled his new superhero body to begin filming the @marvelstudios @theeternalsmovieofficial.  He has maintained his camera ready physique and today released the photos of his transformation and I couldn’t be prouder of him. I’d be happy to answer any questions you all may have but let me start by saying the key element before beginning any transformation is establishing a realistic goal.  It’s called a lifestyle for a reason – something you can, will and want to continue for the rest of your life. It does not require starving yourself or working out for hours upon hours every day but it does take discipline and the ability to push yourself and continue to find new limits.  Working out and nutrition should empower and energize you if it doesn’t you are doing it wrong.”

I’d like to focus on the part about hard work, dedication and the desire to learn. 

Oh, and the fact that right from his trainers mouth he says: the way anyone can!

In his interview with Men’s Health him and his trainer also share some more exercises specifically from their shoulder workout, but also a handful of helpful details we can utilize to build out this routine.

Right off the bat we learn that Nanjiani started out by training five days a week.  Men’s Health shares: “Nanjiani’s been trudging down to Granite five days a week for the past three months to train with Roberts, a former Mr. Canada.”

They continue by giving us the meat of this meal:

Before he met Roberts, Nanjiani had been your average gym goer, riding the stationary bike to nowhere for 20 minutes a day. Now his workouts draw from the bodybuilder playbook, and his trademark wit has been replaced by a thousand-yard stare.

“When I’m exercising, I’m not thinking about anything else,” he says.“It’s like meditation.” That may be why Nanjiani’s friends “practically staged an intervention” a few months ago to get him out of the gym. The last thing they want is a T-1000 clone of Nanjiani replacing Silicon Valley’s Dinesh. “Effort isn’t funny,”he says. “Several of my friends have said, ‘There’s nothing funny about a guy who works out all the time.’” Nanjiani doesn’t care. “I’m kind of obsessed with it.”

Nanjiani does promise he’s coming back to comedy, though.  He even says: ““If I can be a big, buff person with the same outlook I have now, that would be pretty cool,” he says. “There aren’t many people around like that.”

But we’re not done yet.  A transformation like this deserves all the sources to be shared prior to the building of the ultimate plan.

Hollywood Reporter shares this from Nanjiani’s trainer Roberts:

Roberts said Nanjiani trained, on average, four to five days per week, including some two-a-days. “We had a significant time period, close to a year,” Roberts noted of their plan to get Nanjiani into shape before the actor set off to London for filming. “We sent him away in peak physical condition, but he’s had to maintain that. I give him kudos for being able to do that, especially when he was working.”

We’ve really only seen a couple two-a-day programs here at SHJ.

Most recently we had two-a-days pop up in our Superhero Secrets Boot Camp that was based around CW Stars training, but other than that we also saw them for Henry Cavill’s workout and Tom Hardy’s workout!

And Muscle and Fitness has some great information for us to wrap this section up as well!

From the interview with Roberts we shared a snippet from about Nanjiani’s nutrition, they share this:

Ten months later, Nanjiani was about 175 pounds and lowered his body fat percentage from 20% to 10%. “That was a huge lean mass gain for Kumail.”

Of course, the plan only works if the client does, and Roberts asserts that Kumail was an ideal trainee. “He was ferocious about learning. I have thousands of texts from him asking tons questions, and I can appreciate it,” Roberts says. “ He drank the Koolaid, and he’s going to maintain this lifestyle—he’s all in.”

Finishing us off with their shoulder workout and also a final snippet for us to go on:

For Nanjiani, this meant five workouts per week, each lasting a little over an hour. He followed a typical bodybuilding split, focusing on one or two body parts at a time, with Roberts consistently tweaking the reps to exhaust the star’s muscles in different ways.

If you want to automatically have tweaks to your programming in the form of progressive overload like Roberts did for Nanjiani you’re going to want to throw this one in our Upgrade Your Workout Tool; but other than that, I think we’re ready!

Ready to Transform?!
Check out all The SHJ Programs and start unleashing your inner SuperHuman.

Kumail Nanjiani Workout

Training Volume: 

5 days per week

Explanation:

In multiple sources we find out that Nanjiani was training 5 days per week, doing a typical weight training program, with the only source making mention to “4-5 days a week” also mentioning “two-a-days”.  Which means…if you missed a day and can only get there 4 days it seems like you’ll be back in the gym for a two-a-day on another day of the week! 😛

Triset Explanation:

In interviews with Roberts he makes mention to trisets for some of Nanjiani’s workout.  To do these you will be completing each exercise back to back to back with no break, and then once one set of each is completed you can rest and then rinse and repeat.

Want To Upgrade This Workout?

The Superhero Academy now comes with an Upgrade Your Workout Tool that allows Academy members to turn any SHJ workout into a 4-8 week fully planned regime detailing exact weights to lift and including reverse & tradition pyramid training, straight sets, super sets, progressive overload and more.

Brandon Trained Like Kumail For A Week:
Check Out The Video Here

Kumail Nanjiani Workout: Sample Workout Routine Schedule

Monday: Back and Traps

Tuesday: Chest and Abs

Wednesday: Legs and Calves

Thursday: Shoulders and Abs

Friday: Back Squats, Legs, Calves, and Cardio

Saturday: Biceps and Triceps

Sunday: Rest Day

Kumail Nanjiani Workout: Back and Traps

Warm Up:

10 Minute Incline Walk on Treadmill

Workout:

Hex Bar Deadlift

4×6-20

Hex Bar Farmers Walk

4×50 meters

Barbell Shrugs

4×6-20

Straight Arm Cable Pulldowns

4×6-20

Dumbbell Shrugs

3×12

T-Bar Rows

3×12

Triset:

A. Hammer Strength [or Machine] Pulldowns

4xFailure

B. Close Grip Cable Rows

4xFailure

C. Face Pulls

4xFailure

Kumail Nanjiani Workout: Chest and Abs

Warm Up:

10 Minute Incline Walk on Treadmill

Workout:

Bench Press

4×6-20

Incline Dumbbell Press

4×6-20

Cable Chest Flyes

4×6-20

Dips

4×6-20

Triset:

A. Incline Dumbbell Hex Press

4xFailure

B. Incline Dumbbell Chest Flyes

4xFailure

C. Standing Incline Dumbbell Chest Flyes

4xFailure

Abs:

Hanging Knee Raises w/ Twist

3×26

Sit Ups w/ Twist

3×26

Side Planks

3×30 seconds each side

Kumail Nanjiani Workout: Legs and Calves

Warm Up:

10 Minute Incline Walk on Treadmill

Workout:

Back Squat

4×6-20

Walking Weighted Lunges (w/ DB or BB)

4×50 meters

Hamstring Curls

4×6-20

Seated Calf Raises

4×6-20

Leg Press

3×12

Calf Raise on Leg Press Machine

3×12

Triset:

A. Goblet Squat

4xFailure

B. Cable Pullthroughs

4xFailure

C. Box Jumps

4xFailure

Kumail Nanjiani Workout: Shoulders and Abs

Warm Up:

10 Minute Incline Walk on Treadmill

Workout:

Seated Dumbbell Press (or any form of Overhead Press)

4×6-20

W Press

4×6-20

Hold two light dumbbells in each hand and press them overhead. From here, lower your down to your sides, keeping your palms out and a slight bend in your elbows. Once they’re below parallel, raise them back overhead.

Lawnmower Row

4×6-20

Behind-the-back Cable Lateral Raise

4×6-20

Triset:

A. Dumbbell Front Raise

4xFailure

B. Dumbbell Lateral Raise

4xFailure

C. Dumbbell Rear Delt Raise

4xFailure

Abs:

Hanging Leg Raises

3×25

Sit Ups

3×25

Planks

3×60 seconds

Kumail Nanjiani Workout: Biceps and Triceps

Warm Up:

10 Minute Incline Walk on Treadmill

Workout:

Preacher Curls

4×6-20

Reverse Grip Cable Pushdowns

4×6-20

Standing Alternating Dumbbell Curls

4×6-20

Skull Crushers

4×6-20

Concentration Curls

3×12

Chin Ups

3×12

Triset:

A. Cable Overhead Extension

4xFailure

B. Cable Hammer Curls w/ Rope

4xFailure

C. Cable Kickback

4xFailure (each arm)

Looking to step it up a notch?
Join The Superhero Academy and start unleashing your inner SuperHuman.